A Fight without Remorse

Chapter 8

Copyright 2013 © Rosesareforever 

A Fight without Remorse

Chapter 8

Twelve hours after receiving the worst news ever in her twenty eight years, Alexis arrived at New York's JFK airport. To put things mildly, she was worried shitless. Seeking assurance that her mom and sisters were indeed safe and unharmed, she needed to see them in the flesh. She still couldn’t believe someone would deliberately set fire to her apartment.

The flight from Miami to New York hadn’t been easy. Of course, nothing ever goes according to plan. Even after taking a few pills to calm her nerves, she still felt almost frenzied at times. To her great surprise, it was Marc who made her feel safe during the flight. He repeatedly reassured her that nothing would go wrong when she was frantically squirming in her seat. Her fear of flight was always with her. That fear, in combination with the fire related stress, made her feel like she was teetering on the edge of sanity.

The flight attendants finished showing the safety plan. Soon the aircraft was readying itself to taxi to the runway. Alexis’ hands were tremoring slightly while she pressed herself further into the seat. Her knuckles were white from the death grip she had on the arm rail. Her fear was literally consuming her. It felt much worse than her last flight. Feeling as though all the oxygen had been sucked out of her lungs, she struggled to breathe.

Her heart was beating widely against her chest, her blood pressure felt alarmingly high. She was on the cusp of a full blown panic attack. Having endured several of those in the past, she knew all too well the side effects that came along with them. In mere minutes her stomach would start convulsing begging to empty itself.

“Alexis?” she heard Marcus’ worried voice beside her. She knew her bizarre behavior must be freaking him out. In her state of panic, she couldn’t bring herself to explain what was happening. She could barely think straight, let alone form a coherent sentence.

Marc watched as pallor overtook her face, her eyes wide like she'd seen a ghost. Pain was radiating from her body. He couldn’t help but worry. What the hell was going on with her? He tried to get her attention by calling her name, but she remained rigid in her seat, her hands gripping the rails tightly.

Suddenly it dawned on him, she must be afraid of flying. He’d never flown with someone that was afraid of flying before. Her panic was clearly evident. He’d never witnessed a panic attack before, but was fairly certain that was what was going on with Alexis.

He quickly put his hand atop hers on the rail, slowly caressing her skin while telling her to breathe slowly. Inhale. Exhale. She was so detached, she probably didn’t even notice his presence. She stared blankly ahead of her. Fear and devastation replaced the fierceness normally evident in her eyes. He wished there was something he could do to make her feel better, but knew it would be useless.

At the moment, she didn’t even respond to simple questions. She was trapped in her own little world and couldn't seem to find a way out. He slowly tore her fingers loose from the rail and placed them in his hand instead, her formidable grip causing him to wince in pain. Damn. The woman was alot stronger than she looked.

“Alexis, it’s going to be fine, but you have to relax, sweetheart,” he whispered softly, his lips only inches from her ear. She visibly started to relax and he let out a relieved sigh. At least she’d heard him. Using his fingertips, he drew little circles over and over on top of her hand hoping to soothe her intense fear.

“Can’t breathe,” she mumbled, gasping for air. Not knowing what else to do, Marcus let go of her hand and put his palms on each side of her face, forcing her to look him in the eye. Once their pupils met, he watched her intently while telling her to breathe slowly. His hands stayed in place the entire time, his thumbs slowly caressing her cheeks.